Chapter 186: Coming Soon to Kaifeng
Meanwhile, one of the Five Flowers of Murim, Jin Seol was on high alert.
After all, this was Tang Nanah, someone she couldn't claim to have a good relationship with even in jest.
Even setting Tang Nanah aside, none of the Five Flowers of Murim could be called close; they frequently badmouthed each other and spared no criticism.
A rough summary of the criticisms went like this:
The Poison Flower uses poison. Worse, she doesn't care about time or place—everyone washed their hands of her after she got caught using poison during someone's seventieth birthday celebration, only to hit the floor, wailing and playing the victim.
The Sword Flower thinks anyone with larger breasts than her is either a public enemy of the martial arts world or her parents' murderer. Unfortunately, she herself possesses the flattest chest in the world.
The Virtuous Flower acts smart and looks down on everyone else. Just a moment's conversation reveals she's destined to live her life without friends.
The Snow Flower is expressionless and emotionless. They say it's a side effect of her Ice Arts, but she lacks any human warmth and doesn't even seem human. She never speaks more than two sentences, so all her lines are either "yes" or "no."
One might wonder why the so-called Five Flowers of Murim were all flawed, but the truth is, if you set out to find fault, anyone can be made out to be flawed.
Thus, the greater the affection for someone, the more understandable their flaws become, and the more their strengths shine.
The Five Flowers of Murim simply disliked each other, making only their flaws stand out.
In any case, it was only natural for Jin Seol, sitting next to the Poison Flower, to be tense.
She didn't even know why Nanah had sat beside her in the first place.
Warily checking if Nanah might try to poison her, she ventured, “By the way, Nanah. You seemed quite close to that veiled Young Lady Ximen earlier. What kind of person is she, that the great Poison Flower follows her around like that?”
Translation: Why is a wench of the Five Flowers of Murim level acting like a handmaiden, waiting on some ugly girl hiding her face?
Tang Nanah smoothly ignored the barb and countered.
“You know, flaunting your chest like that can cause blood stasis. Say, were they always that... substantial? Are you sure you aren't propping them up with something underneath?”
“W-what are you talking about? They’ve always been like this! I didn’t put anything in there!” Jin Seol protested.
“I’m just saying it out of concern,” Nanah continued calmly. “The human body is healthiest when it's natural, right? Illnesses arise otherwise. If your chest gets cold or you forcefully lift and fix it in place, the blood will clot later, causing big problems. Worst case, you might have to cut them off.”
Jin Seol was uncertain.
I thought that was an attack, but it doesn't feel like one? What is this? Why is she pretending to be worried?
“Hmm. You’ve applied powder instead of oil, haven’t you?” Nanah observed. “It’s because the blue veins show through, right? That’s a very bad sign. If you develop a breast abscess, you’ll really have to have them removed.”
“Oh, that can’t happen. Is it really serious?” Jin Seol was hooked.
Tang Nanah was also well-known as one of the few female physicians.
“With the powder on, it’s hard to tell just by looking,” Nanah said thoughtfully. “I think I’d need to feel them. Should I check now? Tomorrow, everyone’s watching the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly together. Best to check while it’s just us women.”
“Ah, uh, okay…” Jin Seol hesitated.
“Not ‘uh, okay.’ It should be ‘Please, Doctor Tang,’ shouldn’t it?” Nanah chided gently. “Or would you rather go to a clinic and strip your chest for some old man or grandpa to check your pulse?”
This was a problem arising from the scarcity of female physicians. Women often endured pain silently because showing themselves for a pulse diagnosis was embarrassing.
“Do you know what happens if it really is a breast abscess?” Nanah pressed on. “They’ll call in all the medical students—‘Look here, this is a breast abscess. If you touch it like this, you can feel the lump; this is the blood clot resulting from liver stagnation.’ ‘You should all palpate it once to remember this sensation.’ They’ll call every disciple in the neighborhood to knead you like dough!”
Jin Seol’s face turned pale.
“P-Please, Nanah. Could you take a look? They have been feeling rather sore lately…”
“Hmm. A little more politeness would be nice.”
Jin Seol bit her lip.
Then, Tang Nanah grinned as if relenting.
“Well, a physician can’t exactly pick and choose patients. Let’s put up a screen. Everyone heard, right? If anyone else is worried, form a line. If you have any pains you couldn't speak of, I'll check them while I'm at it.”
Jin Seol realized with a jolt.
This wench! So now, instead of controlling people with poison, she's scheming to win favor with her medical skills!
If she openly treated Jin Seol, with whom her relationship was known to be bad, then any member of the Phoenix Association who felt unwell would run straight to her without hesitation.
Tang Nanah, that terrifying wench.
And that Ximen Qing woman too.
To make Nanah act like such a handmaiden… Just how much power does that veiled woman possess for Nanah to do something so out of character?
“Have a good time out?” Peng Daesan asked as Qing returned.
“Yep. Saw the Iron Pagoda with Young Lady Gongson and ate tons of snacks. The Iron Pagoda was impressive even the second time. Phew, I’m stuffed. Snacks are surprisingly filling.”
“…? Was that your errand?” Peng Daesan asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.
In the Central Plains, ‘gwaja’ (snacks/confections) was a general term for all refreshments other than staple meals. Skewered silkworm pupae were gwaja, steamed buns with red bean paste were gwaja, tanghulu were gwaja, candied fruits were gwaja, and honeyed ginseng slices were also gwaja. So, if one asked for every type available in a shop, even a single bite of each would constitute a full meal for an adult.
“Oh, right. The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly is happening again tomorrow,” Qing remembered. “What about you, San? Are you going? They say there’ll be lots of delicious food.”
“I took a walk earlier,” he replied. “It’s much more comfortable with my face covered. Tomorrow, I plan to try Kaifeng’s famous Guantang Xiaolongbao and Guo Tie.”
“Ooh? What? If there’s something like that, you should’ve told me first! Damn it, I’m already full.”
“I didn’t say I was going right now. And I only heard about them during my walk today.”
“Guantang Xiaolongbao… I can tell what it is just from the name. Soup-filled xiaolongbao, so dumplings with hot broth inside. What’s Guo Tie?”
“They say it’s pan-fried dumplings where they pour batter in to make them crispy.”
“Ah. Sounds delicious. If only I weren’t so full.”
“You can eat them tomorrow, can’t you?”
“Tomorrow I have to go to the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly. They said there’d be lots of tasty things.”
Peng Daesan’s eyebrow twitched slightly. However, due to his conical hat, Qing couldn't see it.
“Banquet food tends to be all flash and no substance,” he commented dryly. “Prepared early in the morning and served throughout the day, it’s often cold, or reheated, which ruins the actual taste.”
“What?! If the food at a banquet is terrible, why even go?”
“Usually, the purpose of a banquet isn’t the food.”
“Hm. Is that so? Still, since I’m here, I should at least say hello. I promised to meet Sword Brother, and see Daoist Changbin too. Xiang-ie was there too. Do you know Zhuge Xiang?”
“Should I?”
“Well, it’s good to know people, right? Anyway, looks like we’ll be separate again tomorrow? What will my poor lonely San do? Ah! Save some xiaolongbao and dumplings for me too.”
Twitch, twitch. Peng Daesan’s eyebrows moved again.
“You plan to eat cold dumplings?” he asked. “Hmm. By the way, do you intend to keep wearing that thing throughout the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly?”
“Hm? Would it be rude?”
“No. It’s better to keep wearing it if you want to avoid unnecessary trouble.”
“Right, true. When I stayed at the Tang Clan, those five or six brothers there were so damn uncomfortable to be around. The way those guys stared with those hot eyes… Ugh, chills. Seriously hate it. What, are they crazy?”
Qing grimaced in disgust.
How should she put it? Those honey-like gazes?
The guys would always meet her eyes with those profound, greasy looks. It was truly a nauseatingly horrible experience.
As they were killing time with such meaningless chatter, Tang Nanah returned to the inn, plopped down next to Qing, and leaned against her wearily.
“Ahhh. So tired. Doing check-ups after so long has completely drained me. Why isn’t anyone completely healthy? If you’re sick, you should see a doctor…”
“What, you came back from doing check-ups? At the Phoenix Association?” Qing asked. “Wow, that was thoughtful of you. What’s the occasion?”
“Just had something I needed to confirm. Had a feeling, and sure enough… Ah, I’m sleeping with you tonight!” Nanah declared.
“What? Says who?” Qing retorted.
Tang Nanah then looked at Peng Daesan and growled softly, mimicking a tiny, fierce dog.
“So, are you going to keep sharing a room with him?” she challenged. “Even if he’s a harm.less. friend, men and women should be separate. It’s not right to share a room. Why don’t you say something? Who should Qing-ah sleep with?”
"Asked like that, it really does make me sound like someone who deliberately booked a single room," Peng Daesan frowned. "I can't say no, so the answer is predetermined, yet agreeing fuels this resistance and indignation. This is all her deliberate provocation—a truly ill-natured woman. Even so, insisting on sharing the room would truly make me look like I have ulterior motives." Filled with resentment, he could only nod under his conical hat.
The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly wasn't a one-time event, but rather a general term for gatherings of young talents from the Orthodox Murim whenever a major event occurred. When the men gathered, it was the Azure Dragon Association; when the women gathered, it was the Phoenix Association; when they gathered together, it was grandly called the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.
Of course, as a venue for the next generation, who would lead the Orthodox Murim in the future, to build connections, it was an important meeting befitting its grand name.
“Qing-ah, want to try a danxiong too? I think it would look amazing on you,” Nanah suggested the next morning.
The style Jin Seol had worn at the Phoenix Association yesterday was called danxiong (襢胸)—xiong (胸) meaning chest, and dan (襢) being a rare character meaning 'to bare the upper body.' It's sometimes also called Bokyujang (爆乳裝). (For reference, Bokyu (爆乳) in the language of the Central Plains means 'to reveal the breast' and has nothing to do with size.)
Qing replied, dumbfounded, “Hey. I follow the Daoist path, you know?”
“Ah. Right. Qing-ah was a Daoist.” Nanah remembered.
Indeed. Ximen Qing was a practitioner of the Daoist path!
An unimaginable identity.
And Daoists wear Daoist robes.
Whether this extended to personal time varied slightly by sect, but at official functions, at least, Daoist robes were required.
“So, can you wear it later then?” Nanah pressed. “Does the Divine Maiden Sect forbid it?”
“Not exactly, but…”
“Then, let’s go get one tailored after today. My treat. Hm?”
“Hmm. It just looks suffocating.”
“Not at all! It’s super comfortable!” Nanah insisted. “Many women wear it precisely because it’s comfortable. It lifts and holds everything firmly, so it doesn’t jiggle and actually feels quite convenient.”
“What, Nanah, you wear it like that too?”
“It gets hot in the summer. It’s so refreshing.”
“Really? Does everyone in Sichuan dress like that? This summer, it’s Sichuan then. You have a room at the Tang Clan, right?”
Tang Nanah burst out laughing.
“Qing-ah, I think you’re misunderstanding. It’s not some daringly revealing outfit. It’s just wearing a long skirt pulled up high over the chest, revealing the collarbones, and throwing on a sheer outer robe. That’s danxiong.”
“But yesterday, that… Lily? How can someone’s moniker be Lily? A speaking lily?”
“That Lily girl, she goes a bit too far,” Nanah confided. “Normally—no, nobody pulls it down that low. I don’t know how she walks around like that. If she’s going that far, she might as well just go naked. It’s a sickness, really. And you know what? When men stare, she pretends not to notice while squeezing her arms together to push them up even more.”
“Hmm. She was quite the admirable young lady, then,” Qing mused. “But, so only she dresses like that? No wonder I’d never seen it before. Sichuan trip cancelled. Nothing to see there.”
Tang Nanah giggled.
“Silly. Why are you looking at others when you have the most magnificent ones yourself? I checked them all, and Qing-ah, yours were the only pair that was perfect in shape, size, feel, and even weight. It’s not that I’m weird, but once you experience perfection like that... you really can’t help it. Just one touch… Wow. Yes. This is it. This... wow, it’s... wow. Really, wow. I can’t even describe it.”
“Now you’re touching me openly. Aren’t you going to let go?” Qing asked pointedly.
Tang Nanah gave a gentle eye-smile and retracted her hand.
Actually, Tang Nanah had completely changed her tactics.
Medical texts stated that repeated exposure to a stimulus eventually leads to habituation, diminishing its perceived specialness.
Inspired by this, she employed what could be called the 'Becoming Obvious Strategy.'
If someone started walking around the marketplace on their hands, people would initially wonder if they were possessed or undergoing strange training. But the novelty would wear off in a day or two. After a month, everyone would become accustomed to it. 'Oh, that person just normally walks around on their hands.'
It becomes mundane.
This was precisely what Tang Nanah was aiming for.
And gradually, it was beginning to show effects.
Tang Nanah might seem like an airhead, but fundamentally, she was a cunning and fearsome wicked woman.
“Alright, Qing-ah, let’s go now,” Nanah said brightly. “Feeling that good energy first thing in the morning has me bursting with power.”
Tang Nanah flashed a refreshing, slightly sharp smile and naturally took Qing’s hand.
Ximen Qing was officially making her debut at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.
